Ventilator, air diffuser, and the like



Feb. 6, 1940. N. JOHNSTON ,189,502

V ENTILATOR AIR DIFFUSER, AND THE LIKE Filed May 3, 1938 3 S11 eetsSheet l 7 C9 774 OZJWJ/wF 1940' V -N. F.-JOHNSTON ,189,502

VENTILATOR, AIR DIFFUSER, AND THE LIKE Filed May 5, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet Feb. 6, 1940.

N. F. JOHNSTON AIR DIFFUSER, AND THE LIKE VENTILATOR,

' Filed May 3, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet I5 J mm AM l l I li I f L UNITED STATE Patented Feb. 6, 19 40.

VENTILATOR, Am DIFF SER. AND THE Norman Finlay roman. Glasgow, Scotland, as-

4, signor of one-halt Scotland John- Marshall. Glasgow,

Application m a, I an; semi No. 205,821;

In Great Britain This invention relates to ventilators,uair' dif- {users and the like, and more particularly otgth'e I ball and socket type for controlling the .ing through the ventilator or difl'user into' a roo h cabin or the like, and the direction 'thereoififI n such devices, the ball is generally provided-with a mouth-piece or flared openingwhich' proj ects from the ball and is capable of being moved abo' in its socket or mounting tocontrol thedirection of the stream of air discharged, In such-a device however, the mouth-piecemust be place in, 'n position where the stream of 'air 'wil be c pletely cut oiT by a valve fixedl onth I mounting which obturatesthe jer. ball member, and thereforein lthis is a considerable area cover piece, over which aircannot b The object of the invention improve "this. type of controlling means '='wh'ereb'y th of air may be discharged 1 the valve may be eliminate The invention isherei of example with refere'n' drawings, in which}, Figure 1 is a sectio tion of the device as'shownln Figured Figure 4 is an inverted plaii' of Figure 3.-

Figure 5 is a sectionalelevation ct,aniodfllba- I is closed and the spherical segment then closes tion of the device shown'in Figure 4. r a a Figure 6 is aside elevationotfigure 5 in sec- OIL v I Figure 'l is a sectional elevation oi another form ofthedevice. I Figure 8 is a plan of Figure 7. r 4

In carrying the invention into efiect, according to the form shown in Figures 1 and 2, by way of example, the controlling meansis fitted to an ordinary air inlet duct I, such as is used in the cabin of a ship and comprises a socket 2 formed as a spider located in the mouth of the duct, which has two ribs or'arms 3 which provide a spherical interior. .The, socket terminates just short of the line A A drawn through the centre 0,0! the sphere. Three or more ribs may be employed instead of two. Inthis spherical socket 2 is mounted a sphere or ball member 4 which is held therein by means of a cover or locating plate 5, the inner surface of which is cylindrical between the. line A A and the socket 2 and spherical for the remainder of just sufllcient depth so that it encloses more than half the ball member 4 thereby preventing it from falling ,-'*apertu're T 5 ,two holes sul'stantially at right angles or at any 20 othersangle which meet in'the centre of the sphere, an'd thereby make an elbow shape passage from one tothe other, or any. other suit ably shaped or directed passage between the two ,,oithesocket 2. Instead of making the joint e, cop the socket and the cover plate offset from ine' A A it may be made on the line A A or the other side of the line A A to that shown 111 sure 7 .4 t Theball member I is made solid and two cirapertures or holes I, I are provided in the ball gmeinber and meet in the interior to form a passage"! therethrough. The two apertures are situated within the area of the ball member en- 10 clos iby' the mounting which is formed by the cket-and the locating plate. In other words e two apertures i and I are outside a spherical segmentjwhich will close the passage when the ballmember is rotated to the closed position. The

.spheri'cal segment must, therefore,haveadiameter at least equal tov the smallest diameter of the openh s.

desired, this passage leading from one to the other may be made by drilling may be employed.

On thesuriace oi the ball member remote from the two aperturesa projection or knob I0 is provided, whereby the ball member may be moved .so that the two apertures are contained wholly "withinthe socket and covered, as shown in dotted lines, in Figure 1, in which position the device the opening in the socket. This knob is also used for opening the device and moving the apertures into the said cabin in a variable direction.

When one of the apertures is within the socket and the other aperture without,,the ball member can be moved by placing the finger on the knob and moving the exposed aperture round to any 40 position whereby a stream of air can be directed over the whole area of the cabin or the like.

If desired, the ball member may be made hollow with a shell of uniform thickness and soft material may be placed between the arms 3 and the ball member 4 so that it is held firmly but at the same time is permitted to be moved easily by the knob III. In order to give a more uniform direction of air a deflector ll may be situated within the passage 8 in the ball member 4.

Insteadot having a knob l0, several dimples or dents I! may be provided in the surface of the I ball member 4, as shown in Figure 3'. when thus provided the ball member may also be turned so that both the apertures are exposed and not con- '55 3 and 4, and the mounting is formed by an annular socket ring II and a cover ring i5 having an annular recess or groove l8 formed between the two into which a trunnion bearingring I1 is located to rotate freely and supports the pins IS in suitable bearings. Instead of mounting the pins II, in the trunnion ring they may be housed a freely in the recess or groove l8 or the pins I3 may be provided-with bushes forming trunnion bearings which can slide freely in the groove it. Further, instead of having a complete trunnion ring I! two portions of ring of any suitable arouate length forming trunnion pieces or bearings I1 may be employed, as shown in Figure 4. The trunnion ring or trunnion pieces distribute the pressure of the pins and prevent the thin portion of material of the ring I! over the groove it being broken away, should any strain be put upon the ball.

The fitting of trunnion pins prevents the ball from being moved so that the plane containing the centre line or longitudinal axis of the passage 8 deviates from being at right angles to the socket or mounting. Further, the pins also have the advantage of preventing the ball from being pulled out of its socket or mounting.

It will be noticed that in Figure 3 the apertures 6 and 1 forming the inlet and outlet of the passage 8 are situated wholly within one hemisphere of the ball member. By this arrangement the passage 8 can be swung about an axis which is preferably horizontal and this axis is itself capable of being rotated about an axis at right angles thereto, which is preferably vertical; consequently, the outlet 1 can be moved to deliver air in any direction.

It is to be understood that the socket or mounting may be situated in a horizontal, vertical or any other plane.

According to a further modification, as shown in Figures 5 and 6, the surface of the ball member between the two apertures may be removed, whereby a slot is formed which will permit the air to pass more freely from the duct I out into the cabin. When the sphere is hollow, just the wall of the sphere is removed between the two apertures, but when the sphere is solid, then all the material between the two apertures is removed so that there is a slot which is bounded by the wall of the passage and the slot extends from one aperture to the other and right into the interior of the sphere. One deflector H is shown, but any other number; as shown in dotted lines, may be added to suit requirements.

In accordance with a further form of the in- .vention, as shown in Figures 7 and 8, the ball member and socket instead of being mounted directly on the mouth of the air duct l is mounted in the centre of an air diffuser, having, for example, concentric vanes or louvres. The socket is formed by the three ribs or arms 3 secured to the cylindrical member i9 and the ball member 4 is held therein by a ring 20, a portion of the interior of which is spherical. The ring 20 forms one of the vanes or louvres and is securedin "common with the other: to the three arms Ii.

which are all secured to the foundation I! mounted upon the end of the duct I. If desired, the ball member may be provided with trunnion pins i3 which are mounted in a trunnion ring I! located in a recess [6,as shown in Figures 3 and 4, By mounting the controlling means in the centre of the diffuser, a directional stream of air may be discharged in any desired direction, in addition to the diifused air which passes through the said louvres or vanes. If not required, the ball is turned so that the centre is completely closed, and then no directional stream is obtained, but only the diifused air from the vanes or the like.

When the ball member 4 is fitted to the centre of a diffusing device, movement of the ball member will only control the volume and direction of the stream issuing from the centre, and, therefore, to shut off the whole device, two suitable lids m or covers 23 and 23 are arranged at the back of the diffuser and are mounted upon hinges 24 and 24 The lids are provided with upstanding members 25 and 25 to which a link 2 is pivotally connected by suitable pins or bolts, so that the two ends move together. The hinge 24 is provided with an extension lever or the like 21, which is adapted to be engaged by means of a suitable cam 28 which may be operated from the front of the diffuser, by means of a knob I! so that when this is turned around the lid or the l ke will be swung about its hinge and removed from the diffuser, thereby letting air pass therethrough. When the cam is turned in the opposite direction, the lid will again fall by gravity upon its seat. If desired, the lid may be restored to its initial closed position by spring means. If

'desired, wire mesh 30 may be placed over the back of the whole device below the lids 23 and 23.

The socket cover or locating plate may be fixed, if desired and the socket may be made removable. Further, instead of the socket, shown in Figures 1 and 7, having a number of ribs it may be made from a perforated plate of wire mesh or the like, which is pressed or otherwise shaped hemispherically. When employed with a diffuser the flanges of the socket are extended so as to provide a vermin-proof protection over the whole opening.

It is to be understood that the apertures may be made of any shape and siu to suit requirements, and that instead of the two apertures being contained wholly within onehemisphere, they may project a small amount into the other hemisphere, as long as they are contained within the socket or mounting in order to shut off the air completely.

The sphere may be made of any suitable material and may either be moulded or formed by other suitable means, with the desired apertures and passage or slot, as the case may be, which may be of other shapes or forms than those described. v

Further, it is to be understood that the controlling means may be iitted to any suitable air duct or diffuser, and may be used in any ship, cabin, room or the like, whereby air is supplied to the apartment for ventilating, heating or cooling I purposes. I r

I claim: l. A ventilator comprising, a spherical member having an elbow air passage extending therethrough and terminating at the periphery thereof, a socket having an opening therein adjustably supporting said member so that air can be diesage. in variable direction while an inlet end oi the passage remains unobstructed by the socket, a spherical segment of said member having a diameter at least equal to the smallest diameter a of the socket'on the outlet side thereof and the two extremities of the air passage terminating outside said spherical segment, and the peripheral surface area of said segment extending over such a portion oi the spherical member that the shortest chord defining the smallest limits of the segment issubstantially equal to the-diameter of the opening in the socket, whereby thepassage of air through the ventilator can be cut ofi by turning the member to such position that said spherical segment closes the opening in the socket.

2. A ventilator comprising, a spherical. member having an air passage extending therethrough and terminating at'both ends at the periphery thereof, at least one bafll'e located within said passage to direct the stream of air passing therethrough, a socket having an opening therein in which said member is adjustably retained so that the air can be discharged from an outlet end of the passage in variable direction while an inlet end of the passage remains unobstructed by the socket, a spherical segment of said member having a diameter at least equal to the smallest diameter of the socket on theoutlet side thereof and the two extremities of the air passage terminating outside said spherical segment, and the peripheral surface area of said segment extending over such a portion or the spherical member that the shortest chord defining the smallest limits of the segment is substantially equal to the diameter of the opening in the socket, whereby the passage of air through the ventilator can be cut off by turning the member to such position that said spherical segment closes the opening in the socket.

3. A ventilator comprising, a spherical member having an air passage extending therethroughand terminating at both ends at theperiphery thereof, a socket having an opening therein, means movably mounted on the socket having socket.

bearings supporting said memberso as to be 7 turned on an axis-extending diametrically of said socket,'said means being guided by the socket so that the bearings can be moved in the plane of said socket whereby the air can be discharged from an outlet in a variable direction while an inlet end 01' the passage always remains unobstructed by the socket, a spherical segment of said member having a diameter at least equal to the'smallest diameter of the socket on the outlet side thereof and the ends' of the air passage terminating outside said spherical. segment, and the length 01' the arc of the segment measured in a plane'at right angles to the axis of the bearings being equal to at least one-half of the circumference of the sphericalmemben,

axis of said bearings tosuch position that the spherical segment closes the opening in the 7 socket. I

4. A ventilator comprising, an air diffuser formed of vanes, a socket at the center oi the vanes having an opening therein, a spherical member supported by the socket and havingan angular air passagetherethrough terminating at the periphery of said member, said spherical member being adjustable within the socket so that the 'air passing through the passage can be discharged in various directions while an inlet to the passage remains unobstructed by the socket, a spherical segment oi said member having a diameter at least equal to the smallest diameter of the socket on the outlet side thereof and the two extremities oi the air passage terminating outside the said spherical segment, and the peripheral surface area of said segment extending over such a portion of the spherical member that the shortest chord defining the smallest limits of the segment is substantially equal to the diameter of the opening in the socket, whereby the passage of air through the ventilator can be cut off by turning the member to such position that said spherical segment closes the opening in the 

